Project Ashes: England captain Joe Root says win in Australia would the 'shepherd's pie'

January, 2021. The Lighthouse Hotel, Galle, Sri Lanka.

It is one day on from India securing a stunning win in Australia, where Root will lead England in almost a year's time for his third and probably last Ashes series as captain.

Does he have any concerns as he looks towards Australia?

"Apart from injuries, no. Getting there with a fully fit squad is the thing we have no control over, but it would be fantastic. It's something that has hurt us on previous tours."

Is this the biggest year of his career?

"I would say so."

It is the beginning of November and Root is once again speaking to the BBC's Project Ashes podcast, this time the day before he flies to Australia.

One wonders what he might have said in January had he known what was going to unfold in the months that followed.

On a personal level, his batting went to heights where even angels fear to tread. During the course of 2021, Root's bins were out more often than he was.

The captain has held England together. He has been the solid stick running through an ice cream of a team that has constantly been on the verge of melting into a gloopy mess.

Whatever England had in mind for their build-up to the Ashes, what actually transpired must surely not have not been it.

Just one win in nine Tests since the beginning of February, including the worst return in a home summer in 22 years: "From a results point of view, it's not gone exactly how we would have liked."

A batting line-up that, bar Root, has shown similar form to a three-legged horse: "Performances with the bat have been less than what we'd have liked. It has been a challenge."

Injuries to fast bowlers that had been earmarked to go toe-to-toe with Australia's pace battery: "We've had some quite big blows in terms of serious injuries. Jofra Archer could have been such a force."

A rest-and-rotation policy used in response to the demands of the Covid era: "We have, rightly so, put the players' welfare at the forefront of everything we have done. Let's face it, it was to the detriment of performance in India."

A will-they, won't-they saga over whether England would actually make the trip to Australia: "It's hard when Jasprit Bumrah is running at you to think about quarantine in Australia."

All of this on top of a racism scandal that has engulfed the English game. The crisis entered the England dressing room during the first Test of the home summer thanks to Ollie Robinson's historic tweets and once again hangs over Root's men following allegations from Azeem Rafiq about Gary Ballance's time as an international cricketer.

In terms of playing personnel, Root boarded the flight to Australia with his friend, deputy and talisman by his side.

For so long it looked as though Ben Stokes would miss a second consecutive Ashes tour for non-cricketing reasons.

His late addition to the England squad changed the entire dynamic of the series, not only for his immense talent, but because of the potential effect on an Australian team that must have nightmares over his match-winning century at Headingley in 2019.

"It will give everyone a huge lift going into the tour, because we know what he is capable of," says Root. "He has done it quite recently against Australia."

Root and Stokes were on their first Ashes tour in 2013-14 when an entire era of English cricket disintegrated to a 5-0 defeat. Root was dropped for the final Test.

Four years later, Root, captaining England overseas for the first time, was beaten 4-0. He was admitted to hospital during the final Test because of severe dehydration.

A feature of both defeats was the way England were blown away by an Australian aggression not only limited to their fast bowlers. Rockets from Mitchells Johnson and Starc, Ryan Harris, Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood have been supplemented by snarling cricketers in baggy green caps and feral home crowds.

"It's really important that we have a clear understanding of how they will try to attack us, and counter it," says Root.

"Not be scared of it or take a backward step, but be brave in our own way. Don't try to be Australia in Australia, but the best version of ourselves in those conditions.

"If we do that, we'll be absolutely fine.

"We're not going there to be part of a tour, we're going there to win. That has to be the mentality."

If England are to have a chance of earning only a second series win in Australia in 34 years, they have to find a way to score enough runs.

For all of the talk of the need to bowl with express pace, the tourists can at least explore other plans with the ball if they have a total on the board.

Each of Stokes, Dawid Malan and Jonny Bairstow have scored a Test hundred in Australia - something Root has not managed in nine matches. However, the skipper is the only man in the travelling squad with a career average above 37.

"We can't hide away from the fact we need big scores," he says. "That's not putting pressure on our batters. We should relish that challenge.

"Australia can be a wonderful place to bat. It can get flat. You have to manage the bounce well and come through the odd barrage of short-pitched bowling, being wary of different kinds of dismissal. It can be a fantastic place to score runs - that is how I'll be looking at it."

By the end of the Ashes no man will have captained England in more Tests than Root. He will have been in the job for five years - about the maximum amount of time modern skippers have been able to take the strain.

For various reasons, there is a paucity of options to replace him and the man himself has given no indication he is about to step down, though these things can often creep up quickly. It is odds against Root still being in charge when Australia come to the UK in 2023.

In 2021, Root the skipper has been just as impressive in his off-field leadership as he has with the bat, even if he still has spells of losing tactical sense in the field.

Captaining a winning men's team in Australia is one of English cricket's most exclusive clubs. Only five England leaders have tasted victory in away Ashes series since World War II.

For Root to join it, he will have to reverse the run of a team that has won just four Tests down under this century and a personal record of eight defeats in nine matches with a batting average lower than in every country he has played, bar Bangladesh.

"One of the reasons I've struggled in Australia on previous tours was wanting it too much," he says.

"I'm not going there not caring this time - I'm desperate to win, but it's about enjoying the whole spectacle of an Ashes series a little bit more, rather than putting too much pressure on myself.

"Trust it. Just go out there and play. I've played some nice cricket in the past year. I can go there to play with confidence, lead from the front and hopefully that flows to the rest of the team.

"I'm very proud of what we've achieved as a team under my leadership, but nothing would compare to winning in Australia.

"It would be the shepherd's pie. The best of the best."